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London: Printed by A. Hamilton

Abstract

‘In Britain in the 1700s, when mysticism and quackery were part of established medicine, two families dominated: the Monros in Edinburgh, and Hunters in London. John Hunter challenged contemporary medical opinions by advocating the need for observation and experiment in diagnosis and treatment. His own works contained thousands of anatomical dissections of the human body, and an astounding range of animals: birds, fish, amphibians, worms. Obtaining human bodies for dissection was problematic as the law strictly limited numbers available annually. Hunter, like others, was famously remembered for purchasing bodies fresh from the gallows, and body snatching from graves. Publications like this one, plunge us into the professional rivalries of that time.’ Item chosen by Louisa Baillie, University of Otago